A Nigerian British student who died after illegal "Butt Enhancement"

A British student died after jetting to America for an illegal 'butt enhancement' operation in the hopes that having a shapelier backside would make her a hip-hop star.

Claudia Aderotimi, 20, believed a 'bigger booty' would help in her quest to appear in more music videos, her distraught friends claimed following her death in February 2011.

One even revealed the aspiring dancer - stagename Carmella London - was dropped from one shoot because directors discovered she had been wearing padded trousers to help enlarge her bottom.

Talent scout Tee Ali, who met the university student when she filmed a video, told The Sun: 'She was a dancer and choreographer. 

'The problem was she didn't have no butt, and she wanted a butt. 

'She went to audition for one video shoot wearing fake booty pants and she got all the attention.

'But when they found out it was fake she didn't get asked back.'

He described her as 'victim' of social pressure to be perfect and thought a larger bottom would make her famous.'

The Thames Valley University student developed chest pains and struggled for breath 12 hours after she had the illegal silicone injections at a budget hotel.

She was taken to hospital but could not be saved.

A preliminary examination found the silicone filler had leaked into her bloodstream, leading to heart failure.

American detectives are investigating whether she was treated with cheap ‘industrial’ silicone, normally used as a sealant, rather than medical-grade material used in breast implant surgery.

Pressure: She was dropped from one shoot because directors discovered she had been wearing padded trousers to help enlarge her bottom.

Aspiring dancer: Friends claimed Miss Aderotimi was the victim of social pressure to have a larger bottom

It was not the first time Miss Aderotimi had had the procedure.

She is believed to have been treated in November 2010 - her 2011 injection may have been a 'top-up' procedure.

Accompanied by three friends, she travelled from London to Philadelphia for the treatment, thought to have been an early present to herself for her 21st birthday

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But a day later she was dead.

Buttock enhancement surgery is becoming popular in the U.S., among women who aspire to the shapely curves of Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and singer Nicki Minaj.

Minaj has become almost as famous for her posterior as for her voice, and rumours have spread across the web that the Massive Attack singer underwent surgery or uses pads to boost her bum, especially on urban gossip sites such as Bossip and mediatakeout.com. She, however denies having had surgery.

The illusion of a larger backside has become increasingly more fashionable among young women since the rise of the 'Hip Hop Honey' phenomenon.

A bigger behind has become almost a prerequisite for any aspiring dancer wanting to make it on the music video scene.

But the hip hop industry has come under fire for objectifying women in music videos where dancers - or Hip Hop Honeys - chasing fame can often leave themselves open to financial and sexual exploitation.

And in their desperation to beat off the competition, many resort to surgery to get ahead.

'Top up' procedures are only legal when the silicone gel is contained and sealed within an implant. But illegal injections of the material are also widely available from unlicensed back-room medics.

One expert said having a direct injection of silicone gel - long outlawed in the U.S. and Britain, even for breast surgery - is 'like playing Russian roulette'.

Miss Aderotimi and her friends flew to Philadelphia and paid around £100 for the room.

Miss Aderotimi's buttock injections are  thought to have cost around £1,300 - while her friend had the same procedure along with a hip enhancement treatment.

The 'doctor' who injected the silicone left soon after and was not there when Miss Aderotimi began complaining of chest pains.

Paramedics were called to the hotel and she was taken to Mercy Fitzgerald hospital where she died 90 minutes after being admitted.

Dr Rajiv Grover, president-elect of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said: ‘Buttock augmentation isn’t a very commonly done procedure here, which is probably why these girls have resorted to going abroad. 

'If correctly done, it involves implanting solid silicone implants into the buttock just like breast implants.